One way to generate sales, increase foot traffic, and raise brand awareness of your business is to offer free gift cards to customers. Everybody loves getting free stuff, and it gives customers a built-in excuse to walk through your doors, look around, and make a purchase.

Free gift cards feature eye-pleasing designs branded with your company logo and tagline. Each gift card features a modest dollar amount – usually $1 to $3 – that customers use towards any in-store or online purchase. They are redeemed at a higher rate than similar printed coupons and you get the benefit of marketing your brand.

You can mail free gift cards to prospective customers, reward previous customers for their loyalty, or hand them out as part of an in-store promotion. A free gift card also can enhance various marketing and advertising efforts - simply insert the card with your direct mail campaign and it’s an instant invitation to visit your store.

Return on investment with free gift cards
While you do have to invest money to make distributing free gift cards worthwhile, your return on investment is typically strong for a number of reasons:

• Customers can only redeem the value of a free gift card with your business
• To prevent theft or abuse of your generosity, a gift card system vendor can program the cards so they can only be activated at the point of sale.
• Most free gift card recipients typically spend more than the value of the card
• You can set a minimum purchase requirement – give a customer a free gift card worth $3 but only allow him to use it for purchases of $20 or more
• The cost of creating the gift cards – about $1 per card – is a small price to pay to market your business.
• Customers tend to return to businesses that show they value their patronage

Free gift cards for customers, valuable data for you
Another longstanding value of free gift cards is they help you collect valuable marketing data. You can request customers fill out a survey or comment sheet in exchange for a gift card, and then use the data to determine how customers spend their money, which items sell out the quickest, and what sales offers would get them back through your doors.

Creating free gift cards for your customers couldn’t be easier. Simply submit a free BuyerZone request for gift card systems, and you’ll be able to compare multiple providers to see who can develop the most effective free gift card promotion.